Mix and match
Shopping centres are no longer just places where people come to shop. The slow death of the anchor store model in the USA and the continuing struggles of the UK high street demonstrate that having brand outlets with no activation or cultural elements is not enough to continually attract customers.
Today's shopper is looking for a well-rounded experience. In a recent survey the three main elements that customers said they wanted from their shopping malls are food, health and wellness along with new concepts and experiences.
Food
Consumers now want more than restaurants and casual dining outlets. They look for experiences that provide a variety of food options to choose from. This has led to a rise in popularity of food court concepts like the Seven Dials Market in London. Additionally, as individuals look to live sustainable lifestyles by sourcing locally, farmers markets and local, sustainable, grocery stores are becoming increasingly popular places to shop at.
Health and wellness
The desire for a healthy work life balance has led to an increased demand for fitness and wellness facilities like gyms, spas, indoor gardens, walk-in medical clinics, and fitness brand shops like lululemon and Gymshark.
New concepts and experiences
Concepts such as competitive socialising, egaming, and co-working spaces are becoming more popular due to people's increase willingness to socialise and the rise of flexible working. Additionally, with the increasing convenience of ecommerce, shoppers are increasingly looking for unique experiential offerings in physical retail stores. As such, brands have been forced to react by incorporating omnichannel experiences and developing unique boutique stores to attract customers.
Examples of centres which have successfully managed to blend leisure and retail to create an compelling shopping environment:
K11 Musea, Hong Kong
K11 Musea opened in in 2019 and is one of the best examples of a shopping centre that has integrated culture within its spaces. The centre contains over 250 retailers, 70 destination restaurants, and over 40 art installations to reflect the unique culture of the region. The mall is also home to L’ Ecole Asia Pacific, School of Jewellery arts, and the K11 Kulture Academy which hosts educational sessions across the art, design, wellness, and edutainement sectors. The mall also has special exhibition spaces that regularly host exclusive fashion and art events. The retail offer consists of several unique stores, including a Tesal Experience Center and the Golden Goose shoe customisation experience.
The Ring, Chongqing, China
The Ring is a shopping mall that is part of a mixed use development constructed by Hongkong Land in Chongqing, China. In addition to its net leasable retail area of 74,000sqm, The Ring is also host to a 6,000 sqm indoor botanical garden space with elevated walkways, a 24 metre waterfall, and a rotating light show for visitors to relax and enjoy. Sports, family, and culture themed interactive spaces such as "Kidzplorer" a children's edutainemnet zone, "Free+" a sporting facility, and "Open Lab" a large library and social space; are also part of The Ring’s offering.
Uniqlo Park, Yokohama, Japan
Uniqlo Park (seen above), is a unique megastore housing the Uniqlo and GU retail stores and opened in spring 2020. This building is built as a public park that allows everyone to walk up to the top of the building and enjoy scenic views over the Yokohama bayside. The unique design also allows the building to act as both a shopping centre and as a playground for children with slides, climbing walls and bouldering centres, and a jungle gym bolted across the building's facade.
The merging of shopping and entertainment means that shopping centre operators now need to ensure an attractive blend of leisure and cultural components to continue to draw significant footfall and dwell in their spaces.
Soham Nayak